China

I've been in China over a month now. Unfortunately, because China's censors have blocked blogspot and because of the time constraints of traveling, I have not been able to access my blog until now. Which means I have a lot of catching up to do.

After my arrival in Beijing on the evening of January 21st, I proceeded to travel around China, visit friends, explore the country, and drop off some of my luggage at the dorm in Harbin. After three weeks of travel, I returned to Beijing for orientation.

Here's a basic outline of my travels:

I arrived in Beijing and spent a few days exploring the city I had once lived in.

I went to Harbin, dropped off my luggage, and saw the Ice and Snow Festival.

From Harbin, I did a quick trip to the nearby city of Qiqihar.

Using Harbin as a hub, I headed south to Shenyang, which I spent a few days in.

From Shenyang, I caught a bus to Dandong, where I spent Chinese New Year with my friend and teacher Mr. Xu Liang and his family.

I returned to Beijing by train and caught a plane to Chengdu, where I spent a few days visiting my friend and former student Li Cheng and his family.

From Chengdu, I took a train to Xi'an, a former capital of China, where I spent a few days.

Next was Luoyang in Henan, also a former capital of China.

Finally, I visited Kaifeng (also a former capital) before heading back to Beijing.

I'll try to write up a log of my travels as quickly as possible, and then I can move on to writing about my first weeks at CET's program.